Lakers want Lonzo Ball to be more aggressive on offense

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Lonzo Ball, left, seen attempting to move past Denver guard Jamal Murray last week, is being asked to be more aggressive after shooting just 3-pointers the past two games. (Kelvin Kuo/The Associated Press)

NEW ORLEANS – For most of his rookie season, the challenge with Lonzo Ball has not been getting him to shoot the ball. He has done that willingly, if occasionally at odd times and often from great distances.

However, as the Lakers have tried to add new things to Ball’s game, the Lakers’ rookie has shown a tendency to overcorrect. After getting hot from 3 in his first five games back from injury last month, Ball eschewed other means of scoring for the long-range jumper, and saw his percentage plummet from 58 percent in those five games to 20.4 percent since.

On Monday in Indiana, Ball shot just 1-of-4 from the field as the Lakers (31-39) lost 110-100. All of his shots were 3-pointers. It was in contrast to his efforts in his previous outing, when he made just 4 of 15 shots against Miami but attempted only three 3s.

At Bankers Life Fieldhouse, it was as though Ball was grasping for what worked last month, looking for his own shot only when defenders slipped under screens and passing up open shots in the lane to whip wild passes to the perimeter in an effort to set his teammates up for open 3s. Instead, he often found himself in trouble under the rim and ended up committing four first-half turnovers.

“I think I need to be more aggressive,” Ball said after the loss. “Especially tonight, but at the same time we have a lot of guys who can shoot the ball. So someone has to pass, so it’s kind of my job to get everybody the ball, but I’d definitely like to score a little bit more.”

Ball did finish with eight assists against the Pacers,

In a rookie season riddled with growing pains but accentuated by flashes of brilliance, Ball continues to try to find his median.

The Lakers remain confident the consistency will come, that Ball will grow more comfortable trying to finish at the rim and going to the foul line, where he is shooting just 46 percent this season.

“He’s pretty good at taking what the defense gives him on most nights,” Walton said, “and a lot of nights that’s 3-point shots because a lot of teams don’t go over on him. He doesn’t normally get fixated on anything and try to force it.

“Sometimes we’d like him to even be more aggressive. Even if it causes turnovers or missed shots, just to continue to get reps at doing things.”

Like the rest of the Lakers’ starters, Ball has seen his minutes soar with Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart sidelined by injuries. In nine games without Ingram, Ball has logged an average of 36.6 minutes per game, although he said that doesn’t affect him.

“I missed a lot of games,” he said, “so I’m pretty good.”

Ball sat out from Jan. 15 through the All-Star break with a sprained left knee.

NIT picking

While his Lakers teammates all sported team-issued apparel during Monday’s shootaround, Kyle Kuzma was sweating through a University of Utah T-shirt, proudly representing his alma mater during the NCAA’s tournament season.

No, the Utes are not in the NCAA tournament. But, after Kuzma’s former team scored a win over LSU on Monday to advance to the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament, they are the final Pac-12 team still playing. It’s a fact Kuzma likes to make loudly and often around the Lakers, who have a strong Arizona Wildcats flavor.

Walton, a former Wildcat himself, has three assistant coaches with Arizona ties on his staff. Forward Channing Frye was Walton’s college teammate. Arizona’s first-round loss in the NCAA Tournament as a four-seed against 13th-seeded Buffalo stunned all of them.

Kuzma has reveled in it.

“He made a comment that he would rather be playing in the NIT for the championship than to have gotten to the tournament and lost in the first round,” Walton said.

“By being a four-seed to a 13?” Kuzma countered. “Yes.”

With assistant coach Miles Simon, the 1997 Most Outstanding Player after leading Arizona to the NCAA title, barking at him Monday morning, Kuzma continued to gloat.

“That’s all that matters,” he said. “We’re still having fun, enjoying the game of basketball.”

Bill Oram covers the Los Angeles Lakers for the Southern California News Group. He covered the Utah Jazz for the Salt Lake Tribune. He is the (usually) bearded guy in the background wearing a University of Montana hat.